The present invention relates to a process for forming shaped articles with a high degree of flexibility and productivity.
Shaped alumina articles in the form of filamentary abrasive particles made by a seeded sol-gel process have been shown, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,676l, to have certain significant advantages over grains having random shapes made by grading crushed larger pieces of abrasive. Methods of forming such shaped grains are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,090,968 and 5,201,916. Other kinds of shaped article made from sol-gel alumina such as discs and fibers and thin sheets have also been described.
A new and very flexible process for the production of shaped alumina articles has now been devised that allows very rapid and efficient production from a gel of a precursor material.